To Become The Monster
Mae was already bustling around, stuffing her own bag with an efficiency that made me smile despite the tension.
I glanced at Rowan. He was sitting on the edge of the cot, shoulders hunched, pale shadows under his cheekbones making him look almost skeletal. He wasn’t strong yet—he hadn’t fully healed—and every careful breath reminded me how fragile he still was. But I knew we couldn’t wait. Not if we wanted to get to the old woman alive.
“I’ll be right back,” Mae said, already heading for the door.
I followed her gaze as she returned a few minutes later, triumphant, a rat dangling by the tail from her fingers. A good-sized one, alive enough to feed him properly.